302 



CONSERVATION 



have hopes, however, of getting $46,400 from 

 the Washington legislature, besides getting 

 an amendment from the land laws which will 

 allow the state to handle its timberlands on a 

 forestry basis. In Idaho we are able to se- 

 cure certain amendments to the forest fire 

 laws which strengthen the work there, and 

 in Montana, I am advised, it is possible we 

 will be able to secure provisions for fire 

 patrol and also the adoption of forestry prin- 

 ciples to the handling of state timberlands." 



Maine Commission Reports Log Rules 



The Maine state legislature in 1907 ap- 

 pointed a commission of three, with the for- 

 est commissioner, an ex officio fourth mem- 

 ber, to investigate the methods of scaling 

 logs and lumber and to report to the next 

 legislature. On this commission William J. 

 Lanigan, of W'aterville, Fred A. Gilbert and 

 Hosea B. Buck, of Bangor, and Edgar E. 

 Ring, forest commissioner, of Orono, were 

 appointed by Governor Cobb. 



It is a commission of practical business 

 men from wood-using industries. After 

 holding hearings in the different lumbering 

 districts of Maine, the following conclusions 

 were reported in substance : 



"The method of measuring manufactured 

 lumber seems satisfactory and no change is 

 recomended. 



"The lack of uniformity in methods of 

 scaling logs leads to great confusion and gen- 

 eral dissatisfaction on the different rivers 

 in Maine. 



"The log rules in use, especially the New 

 Hampshire and the Maine or Holland rules, 

 give fair results only for short logs, but are 

 unsatisfactory for longer logs. 



"The board foot is not the proper unit for 

 log measure since it is relevant only in case 

 of lumber manufacture, but entirely irrele- 

 vant in pulp, staves, veneer, and other in- 

 dustries. 



"The cubic foot should be the unit of 

 measure, and each manufacturer should 

 calculate the product he could manufacture 

 in board feet, pounds of pulp, number of 

 staves and square feet of veneer, and fix the 

 price accordingly. 



"The contract logger figuring in cubic 

 feet would then be paid according to the 

 weight he handles, whether the logs are large 

 or small. In contracting by the thousand 

 board feet, as is now done, he handles a 

 larger weight of small logs per thousand 

 than of large logs. 



"The commission recommends the substi- 

 tution of a cubic foot caliper rule as the 

 legal rule for Maine, arguing that besides 

 applying to all industries involved it would 

 aid economical logging and full utilization 

 of material." 



It is very evident that if log measurement 

 is to be standardized for the entire country 



the cubic foot caliper rule applied at the 

 middle of the log will be applicable for all 

 states, all industries, all species, whatever 

 their taper, and for long logs as well as short 

 logs. While the volume is" not entirely exact 

 by the middle diameter method for very 

 long logs, the error is very small in favor 

 of the buyer. But it gives by far the better 

 result in comparison with end diameter 

 measurement, even when the latter method 

 makes allowance for "rise" or taper. 



If the Maine legislature adopts the rule 

 recommended, the lumbermen and foresters 

 say the state will be setting a standard rule 

 that may be followed with profit by all the 

 other states. 



Developments in Colorado 



Says the Financial Age, of New York : 

 "The Empire Water and Power Company, 

 which has in contemplation a large power 

 development project near Colorado Springs, 

 Colo., has secured an additional 320 acres of 

 land, adjacent to reservoir sites on the north 

 slopes of Pike's Peak, making its total 

 holdings 1,200 acres. 



"Fifty thousand acres of semi-arid land in 

 Kiowa and Prowers Counties, Colorado, will 

 be reclaimed by irrigation as a result of a 

 contract recently let by the Chivington Canal 

 Company. The cost will be $200,000. Colo- 

 rado Springs men are largely interested in 

 the company." 



Alabama's Resources 



"Announcement is made in Montgomery, 

 Ala., that for the first time in the history 

 of Alabama, a prospectus of the state's re- 

 sources, agricultural, mineral, commercial 

 and otherwise, has been compiled. A book, 

 containing over 600 pages, has been drafted 

 by the state department of agriculture, in 

 which every phase of Alabama life and in- 

 dustry is described. The book is now in the 

 hands of the printers, and will be issued 

 during the coming fortnight to the public. 



" 'The Handbook of Alabama' it is called. 

 Every county has its history, its develop- 

 ment, and its possessions set forth at length, 

 and every one of the state's numerous 

 sources of wealth and development are de- 

 scribed. 



"The department of agriculture has been 

 occupied in the compilation of the book for 

 more than a year, the officials and those 

 aiding the attaches of the department work- 

 ing on the volume at odd hours. As it is, 

 it represents a comprehensive description of 

 the state, and the advantages which the state 

 affords. 



"It is not an advertising bulletin, but a 

 book to instruct Alabamians and others in, 



